Manila: At least five rounds of bullets were fired inside the Philippines Senate on Wednesday as authorities tried to arrest a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The senator has been charged with crimes against humanity.
As per news agency Associated Press, while the cause of the incident is not known yet, there is no report of any injury so far. Notably, Senator Ronald dela Rosa was under the protection of allied lawmakers in the building, even as officials sought to detain him.
Senate President Alan Cayetano confirms the development
Addressing the reporters, Senate President Alan Cayetano confirmed the incident. He, however, did not provide any further details. “The emotions are high here,” Cayetano said, adding, “This is the Senate of the Philippines, and we are allegedly under attack.”
The ICC, recently, shared in the public domain a warrant for Rosa, who is a former Philippine national police chief, and also oversawan anti-drug campaign at one point of time. During his tenure, several low-level suspects were reportedly killed.
The warrant, which was issued late November, accused Rosa of murder involving “no less than 32 persons” between July 2016 and April 2018, when he headed the national police force under Duterte.
Rosa vows to fight ICC order
After the arrest warrant was issued, Rosa vowed to fight the order of the ICC. Pointing out that he would take legal remedies, Rosa on Wednesday urged his followers to gather in the Senate to prevent his impending arrest. Earlier on Monday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) tried to arrest him, but Rosa requested the help of.
“If I have something to answer for, I will face those in our local courts and not before foreigners,” dela Rosa told reporters in the Senate, which took him into “protective custody” Monday when he reappeared after months of absence,” news agency AP quoted him as saying further.